In parliament on Tuesday, President Armengol announced that 30 million euros have been allocated in the 2023 budget for work on restoring the east-coast rail line from Manacor to Arta.
The initial section will start next year and the rest of the line will be developed in phases.
The original line opened in 1921. It closed in 1977. In 2009, funding from Madrid was available for reactivating the line, as it was for the extension from Sa Pobla to Alcudia. Work did start on the Arta line but was definitively halted in 2011 - one of any number of austerity measures.
Under Balearic government transport plans, three lines are envisaged - Manacor-Arta, Sa Pobla-Alcudia and Palma-Campos. The first of these already has infrastructure in place, which was why questions were asked of a perceived government delay in order to carry out a feasibility study; a plan already existed. The one main difference compared with 2009 is consideration being given to a Cala Millor branch line.